


Harlem's Purgatory

by chelseagirl



Category: Jessica Jones (TV), Luke Cage (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 13:58:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19252591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chelseagirl/pseuds/chelseagirl
Summary: Spoilers for Jessica Jones season 3 abound.After Jessica turns around and heads back into the city, there's only one problem: where to go?  She turns to an old friend.





	Harlem's Purgatory

"Boss, there's some crazy white girl here, in torn jeans and looking like she doesn't belong in the Paradise. She's sayin' she needs to see you."

"Dark hair, leather jacket, eyes that look like they've seen things no one should ever have to see?"

"Real pretty, though. Tall."

"Jessica. Let her up." Luke Cage found himself straightening his tie, which he knew was ridiculous, considering how Jessica Jones had responded to his new look when he'd seen her last, just a few days before.

And then she was standing there, looking around his office, wide-eyed. "You've really come up in the world." A moment, as those eyes narrowed. "Do I want to know how you got there?"

Luke shook his head, wearily. "Probably not."

"How's Claire?"

"Gone. Awhile ago. She . . ." he hesitated. "She saw something in me that she didn't like. And she wasn't wrong."

"Lotta that going on, these days." Jessica focused her gaze somewhere over Luke's shoulder -- at first he thought it was at a painting on the wall, but then he realized she was just trying not to meet his eyes. "You told me to do the right thing. I did it. They took Trish to the Raft. And now I have nothing . . . no one. My last family, and I tossed her away like she was trash."

"Jessica, from what I hear, she was out of control. She was hurting people, and she was only getting started." Luke trailed off. He rose and poured her a drink, which she tossed down quickly, and put out the glass for a refill.

But she didn't drink it, not right away. Instead she leveled her gaze at him. "Damn you, Cage. You dropped that on me, and then you just . . . took off. I needed . . ." She stopped herself. "No, that can't be right. I don't need. There's no point in it." She tossed down the second drink, and rose to go. "One for the road?"

"Back to Hell's Kitchen?"

"No point. I gave the keys to Malcolm. Maybe he can make something of Alias Investigations. I need a new start, somehow." Again, she fixed him with her gaze, but this time there was no anger in it. She reached out her hand to take the drink he'd handed her, again tossing it down quickly, and picked up the small black bag that, Luke realized, must have been all she'd planned to take with her. "I was on my way out of town when something called me back. He can't win -- he can never win."

"He?" asked Luke. And then it struck him. "Kilgrave?"

"He can never win." She repeated herself. "And that means I can't give up. But for the moment, 'til I figure it out . . . I need . . . someplace to go."

"Harlem's Paradise?" And for the first time, Luke cracked a smile. "Only thing is, we've got a dress code here, and you're not in compliance."

"Like that ever stopped me before." Jessica did not smile in return, but for the first time, some of the darkness seemed to have lifted. Just a little bit. "When do you get off work?"

"Never," he said, looking around him and making a decision. "But . . . let's go."

It only took them ten minutes to break the bed, but putting together the pieces of two lives that had gone so far astray -- that was going to take much longer.

If it could even be done at all.

**Author's Note:**

> I admit it: I am a hardcore Jessica/Luke 'shipper, but the thing that meant the most to me in _Jessica Jones_ was the sisterhood between Jessica and Trish. These two broken people tried their best to be there for each other. And so, the end of season 3 was pretty devastating to me, especially knowing that was it.
> 
> Plus, I'd been waiting for another Jessica/Luke moment since _The Defenders_ and was pretty disappointed with what we got. Hence, this, which came into being as a commentfic over on Dreamwidth.
> 
> I was unsatisfied with the ending of _Luke Cage_ , season 2, and I'd previous written a "Jessica shows up at Harlem's Paradise" story. This is a different song to a similar tune. If the ending of JJ, season 3 hurt you, too, I hope this helps a little -- and I look forward to seeing how you fic things!


End file.
